Quite a few robotaxis operated by Chinese language tech big Baidu froze in a significant metropolis on Tuesday, reportedly trapping passengers inside, stranding them on highways, and inflicting no less than one accident in snarled visitors.
Police in Wuhan confirmed receiving a number of stories of Baidu’s Apollo Go robotaxis stopping in the midst of streets and being unable to maneuver. Police mentioned no accidents have been reported and that preliminary investigations counsel an unspecified “system failure” is chargeable for the outage.
Wuhan is a significant robotaxi hub for Baidu, which has reportedly deployed greater than 500 driverless vehicles on its roads. It’s unclear what number of autos malfunctioned. Native information stories cited by Reuters counsel no less than 100 robotaxis have been affected. Baidu didn’t instantly reply to The Verge’s request for remark.
The incident has reignited debate over the protection of self-driving vehicles in China, one of many world’s most enthusiastic adopters of the know-how, amid an aggressive international growth. Baidu is a significant operator, deploying robotaxis in 26 cities worldwide, together with partnering with Uber in London and Dubai.
